Railtrack pays for safety

Safety-related investment by Railtrack caused pre-tax profits to dip 16% to £428m in the year to March, on turnover slightly down at £2.5bn. Concern about the state of the nation’s rail infrastructure prompted the company to announce an extra £100m spending programme earlier this year. This was supported by increased operating expenditure of £17m and […]

Safety-related investment by Railtrack caused pre-tax profits to dip 16% to £428m in the year to March, on turnover slightly down at £2.5bn. Concern about the state of the nation’s rail infrastructure prompted the company to announce an extra £100m spending programme earlier this year. This was supported by increased operating expenditure of £17m and a higher level of renewals spending than originally planned. The increase in investment is predicted to lead to `materially lower’ pre-tax profits in the next financial year.